集神州三寶感通錄 3.12

3.12

According to a separate biography, as for the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna's Monastery on Black Peak Mountain in Tianzhu of the Western Regions, among the twenty-four refuges this great being was the most magnificent and preeminent. His awesome power overwhelmed those of different teachings, and his virtue reached kings and ministers. There were no arts or intellectual disciplines in which he was not thoroughly proficient; he was called the Omniscient One after the Buddha's extinction. The king founded a monastery for him, chiseling stone to make niches, intending them to last until the end of heaven and never be altered or destroyed. In each niche was erected an image together with a superintendent. After years of expending labor, the treasury was exhausted, yet the monastery was not completed. The king came, bowed, and said, "The storehouses are already empty, yet the monastery is not yet established. In vain do I have the aspiration, but my strength does not fulfill my heart's wish; what is to be done?" The Bodhisattva said, "Among those transformed by Your Majesty's virtue, there are none whose thoughts do not submit. Karmic reward follows like a shadow; whatever is done yields merit. Why worry that wealth is exhausted and the monastery will not be completed? You may inspect the labor beside the monastery." How did he do it? The Bodhisattva had beforehand prepared medicine with essential arts; taking a brush, he touched [the rocks], and none failed to turn into gold. Following the size of the stones, the chunks of gold were also accordingly large or small. The king followed his words to search, and indeed seeing the heaps of gold, he was greatly delighted and immediately used them to build the monastery. It is still extant today. Therefore, of the gold produced in the Western Regions, there are many varieties of names; "Nāgārjuna gold" radiates a purple light outward and is regarded by the world as the finest, whereas the light and color of all other golds are slightly inferior. Formerly, the Bodhisattva had a long life of over seven hundred years. He came and went from the mountain monastery, and there was no way to detain him permanently. Since his concealment, nearly a thousand years have passed. The world knows it exists, but the way there is blocked with layer upon layer of obstacles. One arrives at its cliff only after entering through an underground cavern. Recently a monk was invited for the summer retreat; touring all the niches and images, none were not of genuine gold, and sūtra cases filled the cliff caves to overflowing. Only then did he realize that the Three Jewels are maintained in both the unseen and visible realms conjointly. When the summer ended, he wished to take sūtras out, but the monastery people would not permit it, saying, "These were originally intended to preserve the Dharma, and may not suffer any deficiency." Empty-handed, he entered the cavern, walked for several li, and only then was able to emerge.